Let us now take up in a practical way the consideration of those matters in which we should
unite ourselves to God’s will.
1. In external matters. In times of great heat, cold or rain; in times of famine, epidemics
and similar occasions we should refrain from expressions like these: “What unbearable heat!”
“What piercing cold!” “What a tragedy!” In these instances we should avoid expressions indicating
opposition to God’s will. We should want things to be just as they are, because it is God who thus
disposes them. An incident in point would be this one: Late one night St. Francis Borgia arrived
unexpectedly at a Jesuit house, in a snowstorm. He knocked and knocked on the door, but all to no
purpose because the community being asleep, no one heard him. When morning came all were
embarrassed for the discomfort he had experienced by having had to spend the night in the open.
The saint, however, said he had enjoyed the greatest consolation during those long hours of the
night by imagining that he saw our Lord up in the sky dropping the snowflakes down upon him.
2. In personal matters. In matters that affect us personally, let us acquiesce in God’s will.
For example, in hunger, thirst, poverty, desolation, loss of reputation, let us always say: “Do thou
build up or tear down, O Lord, as seems good in thy sight. I am content. I wish only what thou dost
wish.” Thus too, says Rodriguez, should we act when the devil proposes certain hypothetical cases
to us in order to wrest a sinful consent from us, or at least to cause us to be interiorly disturbed. For
example: “What would you say or what would you do if some one were to say or do such and such
a thing to you?” Let us dismiss the temptation by saying: “By God’s grace, I would say or do what
God would want me to say or do.” Thus we shall free ourselves from imperfection and harassment.
3. Let us not lament if we suffer from some natural defect of body or mind; from poor
memory, slowness of understanding, little ability, lameness or general bad health. What claim have
we, or what obligation is God under, to give us a more brilliant mind or a more robust body? Who
is ever offered a gift and then lays down the conditions upon which he will accept it? Let us thank
God for what, in his pure goodness, he has given us and let us be content too with the manner in
which he has given it to us.
Who knows? Perhaps if God had given us greater talent, better health, a more personable
appearance, we might have lost our souls! Great talent and knowledge have caused many to be
puffed up with the idea of their own importance and, in their pride, they have despised others. How
easily those who have these gifts fall into grave danger to their salvation! How many on account
of physical beauty or robust health have plunged headlong into a life of debauchery! How many,
on the contrary, who, by reason of poverty, infirmity or physical deformity, have become saints
and have saved their souls, who, given health, wealth or physical attractiveness had else lost their
souls! Let us then be content with what God has given us. “But one thing is necessary62,” and it is
not beauty, not health, not talent. It is the salvation of our immortal souls.
4. It is especially necessary that we be resigned in corporal infirmities. We should willingly
embrace them in the manner and for the length of time that God wills. We ought to make use ofthe ordinary remedies in time of sickness— such is God’s will; but if they are not effective, let us
unite ourselves to God’s will and this will be better for us than would be our restoration to health.
Let us say: “Lord, I wish neither to be well nor to remain sick; I want only what thou wilt.” Certainly,
it is more virtuous not to repine in times of painful illness; still and all, when our sufferings are
excessive, it is not wrong to let our friends know what we are enduring, and also to ask God to free
us from our sufferings. Let it be understood, however, that the sufferings here referred to are actually
excessive. It often happens that some, on the occasion of a slight illness, or even a slight
indisposition, want the whole world to stand still and sympathize with them in their illnesses.
But where it is a case of real suffering, we have the example of our Lord, who, at the
approach of his bitter passion, made known his state of soul to his disciples, saying: “My soul is
sorrowful even unto death63” and besought his eternal Father to deliver him from it: “Father, if it
be possible, let this chalice pass from me64.” But our Lord likewise taught us what we should do
when we have made such a petition, when he added: “Nevertheless, not as I will, but as thou wilt65.”
How childish the pretense of those who protest they wish for health not to escape suffering,
but to serve our Lord better by being able to observe their Rule, to serve the community, go to
church, receive Communion, do penance, study, work for souls in the confessional and pulpit!
Devout soul, tell me, why do you desire to do these things? To please God? Why then search any
further to please God when you are sure God does not wish these prayers, Communions, penances
or studies, but he does wish that you suffer patiently this sickness he sends you? Unite then your
sufferings to those of our Lord.
“But,” you say, “I do not want to be sick for then I am useless, a burden to my Order, to
my monastery.” But if you are united to and resigned to God’s will, you will realize that your
superiors are likewise resigned to the dispositions of divine providence, and that they recognize
the fact that you are a burden, not through indolence, but by the will of God. Ah, how often these
desires and these laments are born, not of the love of God, but of the love of self! How many of
them are so many pretexts for fleeing the will of God! Do we want to please God? When we find
ourselves confined to our sickbed, let us utter this one prayer: “Thy will be done.” Let us repeat it
time and time again and it will please God more than all our mortifications and devotions. There
is no better way to serve God than cheerfully to embrace his holy will.
St. John of Avila once wrote to a sick priest: “My dear friend,—Do not weary yourself
planning what you would do if you were well, but be content to be sick for as long as God wishes.
If you are seeking to carry out God’s will, what difference should it make to you whether you are
sick or well66?” The saint was perfectly right, for God is glorified not by our works, but by our
resignation to, and by our union with, his holy will. In this respect St. Francis de Sales used to say
we serve God better by our sufferings than by our actions.
Many times it will happen that proper medical attention or effective remedies will be lacking,
or even that the doctor will not rightly diagnose our case. In such instances we must unite ourselves
to the divine will which thus disposes of our physical health. The story is told of a client of St.
Thomas of Canterbury, who being sick, went to the saint’s tomb to obtain a cure. He returned homecured. But then he thought to himself: “Suppose it would be better for my soul’s salvation if I
remained sick, what point then is there in being well?” In this frame of mind he went back and
asked the saint to intercede with God that he grant what would be best for his eternal salvation. His
illness returned and he was perfectly content with the turn things had taken, being fully persuaded
that God had thus disposed of him for his own good.
There is a similar account by Surio to the effect that a certain blind man obtained the
restoration of his sight by praying to St. Bedasto, bishop. Thinking the matter over, he prayed again
to his heavenly patron, but this time with the purpose that if the possession of his sight were not
expedient for his soul, that his blindness should return. And that is exactly what happened—he was
blind again. Therefore, in sickness it is better that we seek neither sickness nor health, but that we
abandon ourselves to the will of God so that he may dispose of us as he wishes. However, if we
decide to ask for health, let us do so at least always resigned and with the proviso that our bodily
health may be conducive to the health of our soul. Otherwise our prayer will be defective and will
remain unheard because our Lord does not answer prayers made without resignation to his holy
will.
Sickness is the acid test of spirituality, because it discloses whether our virtue is real or
sham. If the soul is not agitated, does not break out in lamentations, is not feverishly restless in
seeking a cure, but instead is submissive to the doctors and to superiors, is serene and tranquil,
completely resigned to God’s will, it is a sign that that soul is well-grounded in virtue.
What of the whiner who complains of lack of attention? That his sufferings are beyond
endurance? That the doctor does not know his business? What of the faint-hearted soul who laments
that the hand of God is too heavy upon him?
This story by St. Bonaventure in his “Life of St. Francis” is in point: On a certain occasion
when the saint was suffering extraordinary physical pain, one of his religious meaning to sympathize
with him, said in his simplicity: “My Father, pray God that he treat you a little more gently, for his
hand seems heavy upon you just now.” Hearing this, St. Francis strongly resented the unhappy
remark of his well-meaning brother, saying: “My good brother, did I not know that what you have
just said was spoken in all simplicity, without realizing the implication of your words, I should
never see you again because of your rashness in passing judgment on the dispositions of divine
providence.” Whereupon, weak and wasted as he was by his illness, he got out of bed, knelt down,
kissed the floor and prayed thus: “Lord, I thank thee for the sufferings thou art sending me. Send
me more, if it be thy good pleasure. My pleasure is that you afflict me and spare me not, for the
fulfillment of thy holy will is the greatest consolation of my life.”
Thursday, May 6, 2010
If we would completely rejoice the heart of God, let us strive in all things to conform
ourselves to his divine will. Let us not only strive to conform ourselves, but also to unite ourselves
to whatever dispositions God makes of us. Conformity signifies that we join our wills to the will
of God. Uniformity means more—it means that we make one will of God’s will and ours, so that
we will only what God wills; that God’s will alone, is our will. This is the summit of perfection
and to it we should always aspire; this should be the goal of all our works, desires, meditations and
prayers.
ourselves to his divine will. Let us not only strive to conform ourselves, but also to unite ourselves
to whatever dispositions God makes of us. Conformity signifies that we join our wills to the will
of God. Uniformity means more—it means that we make one will of God’s will and ours, so that
we will only what God wills; that God’s will alone, is our will. This is the summit of perfection
and to it we should always aspire; this should be the goal of all our works, desires, meditations and
prayers.
David fulfilled all his wishes, God called him a man after his own heart: “I have
found David . . . a man according to my own heart, who shall do all my wills (Acts 13:22) ..” David was always
ready to embrace the divine will, as he frequently protested: “My heart is ready, O God, my heart
is ready(Ps. 56:8.).” He asked God for one thing alone—to teach him to do his will: “Teach me to do thy
will(Ps. 142:10.).”
found David . . . a man according to my own heart, who shall do all my wills (Acts 13:22) ..” David was always
ready to embrace the divine will, as he frequently protested: “My heart is ready, O God, my heart
is ready(Ps. 56:8.).” He asked God for one thing alone—to teach him to do his will: “Teach me to do thy
will(Ps. 142:10.).”
Tuesday, May 4, 2010
HOW TO KNOW GOD'S WILL by Tony E. Denton, November 1990
Among all the controversial and confusing subjects in the religious world today, we can find the topic under consideration now—How to Know God’s Will. By “God’s Will” I refer to “What God desires of us as revealed in the Bible.” God probably has desires for each of us as individuals, but these aren't revealed to us in some written form and are dealt with on a different level than what this study is about. There are at least three conditional attitudes for determining what God's Will is for our lives.
We should have an attitude of denial—denial of self's will.
This thought was presented by Paul in Romans 12:1: "I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that you present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable to God, which is your reasonable service." The word "present" was commonly used to refer to the act where the owner of the sacrificial victim gave it up to the priest for use in the Jewish worship service. Now, in the Christian era, Paul urged every Christian, as a priest (First Peter 2:9 & Revelation 1:6), to offer his entire person, including his body and mind, to God for the purpose of service. Once offered, God accepts, and from then on the person is obligated to perform whatever service is required by God. The person offering himself to God becomes "holy" in the sense that, from then on, he's set apart for service, and this service is described as a "rational" one. So this offering of oneself to God is a rational and deliberate act of presentation. The same thought is mentioned in Paul's phrase "doing the Will of God from the heart" (Ephesians 6:6).
The verb "present" in Romans 12:1 is in the aorist tense, suggesting that there's only one enlistment, and that it's a once-for-all action, a life-long commitment to serve God. The illustration of the soldier was used by Paul in Second Timothy 2:4 where he mentioned that the good soldier avoids undue entanglements in civilian affairs in order that "he may please Him who enlisted him as a soldier."
The point illustrates one aspect of what a Christian does when he presents himself for service to God: he makes a decision to put God's Will first in his life. Other matters, such as civilian affairs, must be secondary: if one's duty as a soldier conflicts with civilian activity, then one's duty comes first; this was the point Jesus made in His comment on the disciple who keeps looking back, that is, who is distracted by other things, when He said, "'No one, having put his hand to the plow and looking back, is fit for the kingdom of God'" (Luke 9:62).
Paul reminded us that the life of a soldier involves suffering some hardships: "You, therefore, must endure hardship as a good soldier of Jesus Christ" (Second Timothy 2:3). This means that sometimes, in order to carry out the Will of the Lord, we'll have to give up something we want and perhaps tolerate something we don't want, which brings up the concept of self-denial.
This term was used by Jesus where He referred to it as the first condition for discipleship: "If anyone desires to come after Me, let him deny himself..." (Matthew 16:24). By the concept of "discipleship" the Lord didn't mean salvation, He meant service. The idea of denying oneself is to quit putting one's own way first: when what a person wants conflicts with what God wants, that person denies himself, choosing what God wants for him. In the Garden of Gethsemane Jesus said to the Father, "'Not what I want, but what You want'" (Mark 14:36).
To give up something we want involves a hardship: the soldier, when he enlists, gives up a number of things he would enjoy in civilian life in order to serve his chief. He may have to endure physical discomfort and emotional frustration at times, but he may also enjoy many things while he’s serving. In another place Jesus was approached by a scribe who said, "I will follow You wherever You go" (Matthew 8:19); in essence he was saying, "I'm presenting myself to You for service." But when Jesus answered him He reminded him that service involves hardships, cautioning and urging him to count the cost of such a decision and the resulting duty by saying, "'Foxes have holes and birds of the air have nests, but the Son of Man has nowhere to lay His head'" (verse 20). That way if he made such a decision he would be less likely to falter and disobey orders as a result of lack of determination.
Why does a Christian have to present himself to God for service before he can be successful in knowing the Will of God for his life? I think it's obvious that it's useless for God to issue orders to a person until that person has made a decision to carry out His orders, otherwise he would have no desire to carry them out. A civilian doesn't think of himself as being obligated to obey orders issued for soldiers.
So how can a Christian know what God wants him to do in all cases when he has never been interested in following God's directions? In other words, since he has never told God he will obey Him, why should God bother to give directions? I don't mean to necessarily imply that God never directs people who haven't presented themselves for service, for He does. However, God cannot get through to these undedicated people as successfully as He can to those who have presented themselves for service and who are truly interested in living a life of obedience.
So until one has resolved that he’s going to unceasingly allow God’s desires for him to be foremost in his life, there’s no need for him to pursue the next attitude.
We should have an attitude of desire—desire to know God's will.
A sincere desire to know God's Will comes as a result of the lifetime decision to present oneself for service and to obey God. We who have presented ourselves to God for service need to know His Will daily for the rest of our lives. Where does God want me to go, if anywhere? What does He want me to do while there? What should I do and not do? All such questions become quite important.
The condition of wanting to know is stated by Jesus in John 7:17: "'If anyone wants to do His Will, he shall know concerning the doctrine, whether it is from God or whether I speak on My own authority.'" The context of this verse is a visit Jesus made to Jerusalem for the Feast of Tabernacles (verse 2), and midway during the feast Jesus began teaching (verse 14), which produced a reaction and a question. The Jews marveled at His ability to teach and debate and use the Scriptures (verse 15); they asked the question, "How does this Man know letters, having never studied?" Jesus answered this question by saying that He was schooled in the seminary of God the Father, the One who sent Him (verse 16); so He claimed that what He taught was truth and had its very origin with Yahweh Himself. Then Jesus anticipated and answered their next question: "How can we know that Your teaching is from God the Father?" This is very close to the question a Christian must ask and answer every day: "How do I know whether this decision stems from God or from my own mind?" Jesus gave them two ways to know. The second way He mentioned when He pointed out that His ministry glorified God rather than Himself (verse 18); so the question is, "Whom does our decision glorify?" The first way He gave is what I want to consider: "If anyone wants to do His Will, he shall know" (verse 17); in other words, if one really wants to know and do God's Will, the truth, then God will see to it that he learns it. In another place Jesus said, "'Blessed are those who hunger and thirst after righteousness, for they shall be filled'" (Matthew 5:6).
If one uses the light that God hase given him, then God will honor that obedience by giving him more light, by revealing to him more of His Will: Jesus once said, "'Take heed to what you hear. With the same measure you use, it will be measured to you; and to you who hear, more will be given. For whoever has, to him more will given...'" (Mark 4:24-25). Cornelius, a godly Gentile, was a man who lived up to the light he had: he feared God and was a righteous man (Acts 10:22). Peter, after his experience at the house of Cornelius, said that anyone who fears God and practices righteousness is acceptable to God (Acts 10:35). Because Cornelius had used the light he had, God sent him more light, in this case the truth about salvation in Christ, to which he was also obedient and thereby saved (verses 44 & 47).
So an essential component toward an understanding of God’s Will for one’s life is a desire to know it. Next...
We should have an attitude of deference—deference to God's will. {Deference means to courteously yield to the wishes or will of another.}
As soldiers for Jesus, we want to obey our Commander in chief; however, we also have the flesh which still longs to do what it wants to do, and what flesh wants to do and what God wants the Christian to do sometimes clash: Paul once said, "The flesh lusts against the Spirit, and the Spirit against the flesh; and these are contrary to one another, so that you do not do the things that you wish" (Galatians 5:17). A good example of this conflict is the reluctant disciple who, in response to Christ's command to follow Him (Luke 9:59), replied, "'Let me first go and bury my father.'" To bury one's father was a sacred duty to the Jew: on the human level this man had a strong desire to continue living at home until the time of his father's death, to bury him, and then to take up his duties in service to Jesus; however, Jesus was calling him into active duty right then. This threw the man into great conflict: he should put Christ first and not himself. Notice how the phrase "me first" is used twice in Luke 9:59 and 61: "'Let me first go and bury my father.... Let me first go and bid them farewell who are at my house.'"
The choice people make depends on their willingness to obey Christ on a daily basis, just like the choice this man made depended on the strength of his willingness on that day to obey Christ. This matter of day-by-day conflict and choice is referred to by Jesus as "taking up one's cross" (Matthew 16:24). The cross to the disciples was following the demands of Jesus such as preaching, which would bring inconvenience and suffering. To us today, the cross refers to any demand of God which would be unpleasant or bring trouble or suffering.
Perhaps every day there’s something we think of which we should do, but because it may bring some unpleasantness, we shy away from it. In Luke, the word "daily" is part of Christ's command; so He was emphasizing that the matter of making choices and taking up one's cross occurs from day to day: "'If anyone desire to come after Me, let him deny himself and take his cross daily and follow Me'" (Luke 9:23). The Bible states an important principle about our daily practice: part of us wants to carry out our own will, and part of us wants to obey God's Will. The thing is, whichever part we keep on giving in to day after day, it's to this part that we become a slave: Peter said, "by whom a person is overcome, by him also he is brought into bondage" (Second Peter 2:19). By giving in to our sinful desires repeatedly over a long period of time, we develop a habit of doing this. As a result of forming such a habit, one reaches a condition where it's extremely difficult to deny oneself something that is wanted; instead of being a willing slave of God, an obedient soldier, such a person is a slave of his own desires. However, before we were Christians, this was the state of all of us: it was our way, our habitual practice, to do our own will: Paul said that "we all once conducted ourselves in the lusts of the flesh, fulfilling the desires of the flesh and of the mind" (Ephesians 2:3). This habit of ours didn't change immediately at salvation, but it did become possible for it to change.
As a result of Christ's death, the enslaving power of sin was abolished, making it possible for one to choose to obey the law of righteousness: Paul once wrote that "our old man was crucified with Him, that the body of sin might be done away with, that we should no longer be slaves of sin. For he who has died has been freed from sin" (Romans 6:6-7). Then it's up to the new man to consciously decide to stop repeatedly giving in to his habit of sinning and instead to present himself to God for service (Romans 6:12-14 & 22). He presents himself for service only once, then he struggles daily in conflict, perhaps being pulled in two directions; however, if one wants to do God's Will, he can, and the more he does it, the easier it becomes!
There's a common problem among Christians, though, namely an unwillingness to admit that a particular area of one's life isn't as it ought to be. He may be aware of the Bible instruction which refers to this area of his life, but he has never done anything about it; he wants to hang on to that sin for whatever reason. He may readily obey biblical commands regarding all other areas of his life, yet be very resistant to changing in this one area. This concept reminds me of the story of Beauty and the Beast, Beauty representing God's Word and the Beast’s castle representing our lives: remember how Belle was allowed to go to any area of the castle...except one, and into this one area Belle was not welcome to go; yet, on the contrary, Paul wrote about our “castles” or lives, saying, "Let the Word of Christ dwell in you richly (abundantly)" (Colossians 3:16). The idea of the verb "dwell" is "to be at home," and it was used to refer to the place where a person made his permanent home and had free run of the house. A person might stay temporarily at many places, but only when he arrives at his permanent residence does he say he is truly "at home." So Paul was urging Christians to let God's Word "be at home" in us "abundantly," meaning to accept the Word as the authoritative standard to which we're to conform our lives and apply that standard to every area of our lives; in other words, we should allow the guest to have free access to every room in our “castles” or our lives as a permanent resident.
This principle of willingness to accept God’s Will and the authority of His Word is given by Jesus as the third condition for being a disciple: "'Follow (keep on following) Me'" (Matthew 16:24). He means for us to follow Him in obedience to His example and Word, to walk the road of obedience. Christ didn't pretend that such a road is wide and easy (Matthew 7:14), rather it's narrow, hedged in by many dos and don'ts; but, staying on that road makes effective service to God and eternal life possible.
So let's don't lock up any rooms in our lives. Let's don't try to keep God out of any part of our lives. Rather, let's apply the standard of God's Word to every part of our everyday practices.
Conclusion
There are many conditional attitudes to knowing God's Will for our daily lives: three of them are denying self's will, desiring to know God’s Will, and deferring to His Will in every part of our lives on a daily basis.
There are probably many other conditions, but these are sufficient to place us on the right road to getting ourselves ready for God to reveal His Will to us, whether through His written Word or through His providence. Just remember, it's all in our daily attitudes!
We should have an attitude of denial—denial of self's will.
This thought was presented by Paul in Romans 12:1: "I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that you present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable to God, which is your reasonable service." The word "present" was commonly used to refer to the act where the owner of the sacrificial victim gave it up to the priest for use in the Jewish worship service. Now, in the Christian era, Paul urged every Christian, as a priest (First Peter 2:9 & Revelation 1:6), to offer his entire person, including his body and mind, to God for the purpose of service. Once offered, God accepts, and from then on the person is obligated to perform whatever service is required by God. The person offering himself to God becomes "holy" in the sense that, from then on, he's set apart for service, and this service is described as a "rational" one. So this offering of oneself to God is a rational and deliberate act of presentation. The same thought is mentioned in Paul's phrase "doing the Will of God from the heart" (Ephesians 6:6).
The verb "present" in Romans 12:1 is in the aorist tense, suggesting that there's only one enlistment, and that it's a once-for-all action, a life-long commitment to serve God. The illustration of the soldier was used by Paul in Second Timothy 2:4 where he mentioned that the good soldier avoids undue entanglements in civilian affairs in order that "he may please Him who enlisted him as a soldier."
The point illustrates one aspect of what a Christian does when he presents himself for service to God: he makes a decision to put God's Will first in his life. Other matters, such as civilian affairs, must be secondary: if one's duty as a soldier conflicts with civilian activity, then one's duty comes first; this was the point Jesus made in His comment on the disciple who keeps looking back, that is, who is distracted by other things, when He said, "'No one, having put his hand to the plow and looking back, is fit for the kingdom of God'" (Luke 9:62).
Paul reminded us that the life of a soldier involves suffering some hardships: "You, therefore, must endure hardship as a good soldier of Jesus Christ" (Second Timothy 2:3). This means that sometimes, in order to carry out the Will of the Lord, we'll have to give up something we want and perhaps tolerate something we don't want, which brings up the concept of self-denial.
This term was used by Jesus where He referred to it as the first condition for discipleship: "If anyone desires to come after Me, let him deny himself..." (Matthew 16:24). By the concept of "discipleship" the Lord didn't mean salvation, He meant service. The idea of denying oneself is to quit putting one's own way first: when what a person wants conflicts with what God wants, that person denies himself, choosing what God wants for him. In the Garden of Gethsemane Jesus said to the Father, "'Not what I want, but what You want'" (Mark 14:36).
To give up something we want involves a hardship: the soldier, when he enlists, gives up a number of things he would enjoy in civilian life in order to serve his chief. He may have to endure physical discomfort and emotional frustration at times, but he may also enjoy many things while he’s serving. In another place Jesus was approached by a scribe who said, "I will follow You wherever You go" (Matthew 8:19); in essence he was saying, "I'm presenting myself to You for service." But when Jesus answered him He reminded him that service involves hardships, cautioning and urging him to count the cost of such a decision and the resulting duty by saying, "'Foxes have holes and birds of the air have nests, but the Son of Man has nowhere to lay His head'" (verse 20). That way if he made such a decision he would be less likely to falter and disobey orders as a result of lack of determination.
Why does a Christian have to present himself to God for service before he can be successful in knowing the Will of God for his life? I think it's obvious that it's useless for God to issue orders to a person until that person has made a decision to carry out His orders, otherwise he would have no desire to carry them out. A civilian doesn't think of himself as being obligated to obey orders issued for soldiers.
So how can a Christian know what God wants him to do in all cases when he has never been interested in following God's directions? In other words, since he has never told God he will obey Him, why should God bother to give directions? I don't mean to necessarily imply that God never directs people who haven't presented themselves for service, for He does. However, God cannot get through to these undedicated people as successfully as He can to those who have presented themselves for service and who are truly interested in living a life of obedience.
So until one has resolved that he’s going to unceasingly allow God’s desires for him to be foremost in his life, there’s no need for him to pursue the next attitude.
We should have an attitude of desire—desire to know God's will.
A sincere desire to know God's Will comes as a result of the lifetime decision to present oneself for service and to obey God. We who have presented ourselves to God for service need to know His Will daily for the rest of our lives. Where does God want me to go, if anywhere? What does He want me to do while there? What should I do and not do? All such questions become quite important.
The condition of wanting to know is stated by Jesus in John 7:17: "'If anyone wants to do His Will, he shall know concerning the doctrine, whether it is from God or whether I speak on My own authority.'" The context of this verse is a visit Jesus made to Jerusalem for the Feast of Tabernacles (verse 2), and midway during the feast Jesus began teaching (verse 14), which produced a reaction and a question. The Jews marveled at His ability to teach and debate and use the Scriptures (verse 15); they asked the question, "How does this Man know letters, having never studied?" Jesus answered this question by saying that He was schooled in the seminary of God the Father, the One who sent Him (verse 16); so He claimed that what He taught was truth and had its very origin with Yahweh Himself. Then Jesus anticipated and answered their next question: "How can we know that Your teaching is from God the Father?" This is very close to the question a Christian must ask and answer every day: "How do I know whether this decision stems from God or from my own mind?" Jesus gave them two ways to know. The second way He mentioned when He pointed out that His ministry glorified God rather than Himself (verse 18); so the question is, "Whom does our decision glorify?" The first way He gave is what I want to consider: "If anyone wants to do His Will, he shall know" (verse 17); in other words, if one really wants to know and do God's Will, the truth, then God will see to it that he learns it. In another place Jesus said, "'Blessed are those who hunger and thirst after righteousness, for they shall be filled'" (Matthew 5:6).
If one uses the light that God hase given him, then God will honor that obedience by giving him more light, by revealing to him more of His Will: Jesus once said, "'Take heed to what you hear. With the same measure you use, it will be measured to you; and to you who hear, more will be given. For whoever has, to him more will given...'" (Mark 4:24-25). Cornelius, a godly Gentile, was a man who lived up to the light he had: he feared God and was a righteous man (Acts 10:22). Peter, after his experience at the house of Cornelius, said that anyone who fears God and practices righteousness is acceptable to God (Acts 10:35). Because Cornelius had used the light he had, God sent him more light, in this case the truth about salvation in Christ, to which he was also obedient and thereby saved (verses 44 & 47).
So an essential component toward an understanding of God’s Will for one’s life is a desire to know it. Next...
We should have an attitude of deference—deference to God's will. {Deference means to courteously yield to the wishes or will of another.}
As soldiers for Jesus, we want to obey our Commander in chief; however, we also have the flesh which still longs to do what it wants to do, and what flesh wants to do and what God wants the Christian to do sometimes clash: Paul once said, "The flesh lusts against the Spirit, and the Spirit against the flesh; and these are contrary to one another, so that you do not do the things that you wish" (Galatians 5:17). A good example of this conflict is the reluctant disciple who, in response to Christ's command to follow Him (Luke 9:59), replied, "'Let me first go and bury my father.'" To bury one's father was a sacred duty to the Jew: on the human level this man had a strong desire to continue living at home until the time of his father's death, to bury him, and then to take up his duties in service to Jesus; however, Jesus was calling him into active duty right then. This threw the man into great conflict: he should put Christ first and not himself. Notice how the phrase "me first" is used twice in Luke 9:59 and 61: "'Let me first go and bury my father.... Let me first go and bid them farewell who are at my house.'"
The choice people make depends on their willingness to obey Christ on a daily basis, just like the choice this man made depended on the strength of his willingness on that day to obey Christ. This matter of day-by-day conflict and choice is referred to by Jesus as "taking up one's cross" (Matthew 16:24). The cross to the disciples was following the demands of Jesus such as preaching, which would bring inconvenience and suffering. To us today, the cross refers to any demand of God which would be unpleasant or bring trouble or suffering.
Perhaps every day there’s something we think of which we should do, but because it may bring some unpleasantness, we shy away from it. In Luke, the word "daily" is part of Christ's command; so He was emphasizing that the matter of making choices and taking up one's cross occurs from day to day: "'If anyone desire to come after Me, let him deny himself and take his cross daily and follow Me'" (Luke 9:23). The Bible states an important principle about our daily practice: part of us wants to carry out our own will, and part of us wants to obey God's Will. The thing is, whichever part we keep on giving in to day after day, it's to this part that we become a slave: Peter said, "by whom a person is overcome, by him also he is brought into bondage" (Second Peter 2:19). By giving in to our sinful desires repeatedly over a long period of time, we develop a habit of doing this. As a result of forming such a habit, one reaches a condition where it's extremely difficult to deny oneself something that is wanted; instead of being a willing slave of God, an obedient soldier, such a person is a slave of his own desires. However, before we were Christians, this was the state of all of us: it was our way, our habitual practice, to do our own will: Paul said that "we all once conducted ourselves in the lusts of the flesh, fulfilling the desires of the flesh and of the mind" (Ephesians 2:3). This habit of ours didn't change immediately at salvation, but it did become possible for it to change.
As a result of Christ's death, the enslaving power of sin was abolished, making it possible for one to choose to obey the law of righteousness: Paul once wrote that "our old man was crucified with Him, that the body of sin might be done away with, that we should no longer be slaves of sin. For he who has died has been freed from sin" (Romans 6:6-7). Then it's up to the new man to consciously decide to stop repeatedly giving in to his habit of sinning and instead to present himself to God for service (Romans 6:12-14 & 22). He presents himself for service only once, then he struggles daily in conflict, perhaps being pulled in two directions; however, if one wants to do God's Will, he can, and the more he does it, the easier it becomes!
There's a common problem among Christians, though, namely an unwillingness to admit that a particular area of one's life isn't as it ought to be. He may be aware of the Bible instruction which refers to this area of his life, but he has never done anything about it; he wants to hang on to that sin for whatever reason. He may readily obey biblical commands regarding all other areas of his life, yet be very resistant to changing in this one area. This concept reminds me of the story of Beauty and the Beast, Beauty representing God's Word and the Beast’s castle representing our lives: remember how Belle was allowed to go to any area of the castle...except one, and into this one area Belle was not welcome to go; yet, on the contrary, Paul wrote about our “castles” or lives, saying, "Let the Word of Christ dwell in you richly (abundantly)" (Colossians 3:16). The idea of the verb "dwell" is "to be at home," and it was used to refer to the place where a person made his permanent home and had free run of the house. A person might stay temporarily at many places, but only when he arrives at his permanent residence does he say he is truly "at home." So Paul was urging Christians to let God's Word "be at home" in us "abundantly," meaning to accept the Word as the authoritative standard to which we're to conform our lives and apply that standard to every area of our lives; in other words, we should allow the guest to have free access to every room in our “castles” or our lives as a permanent resident.
This principle of willingness to accept God’s Will and the authority of His Word is given by Jesus as the third condition for being a disciple: "'Follow (keep on following) Me'" (Matthew 16:24). He means for us to follow Him in obedience to His example and Word, to walk the road of obedience. Christ didn't pretend that such a road is wide and easy (Matthew 7:14), rather it's narrow, hedged in by many dos and don'ts; but, staying on that road makes effective service to God and eternal life possible.
So let's don't lock up any rooms in our lives. Let's don't try to keep God out of any part of our lives. Rather, let's apply the standard of God's Word to every part of our everyday practices.
Conclusion
There are many conditional attitudes to knowing God's Will for our daily lives: three of them are denying self's will, desiring to know God’s Will, and deferring to His Will in every part of our lives on a daily basis.
There are probably many other conditions, but these are sufficient to place us on the right road to getting ourselves ready for God to reveal His Will to us, whether through His written Word or through His providence. Just remember, it's all in our daily attitudes!
Monday, May 3, 2010
Experiencing God - Knowing and Doing the Will of God
Henry Blackaby writes in his book "Experiencing God - Knowing and Doing the Will of God":
“’What is God’s will for my life?’ is not the right question. I think the right question is, ‘What is God’s will?’ Once I know God’s will, then I can adjust my life to Him. In other words, what is it that God is purposing where I am? Once I know what God is doing, then I know what I need to do. The focus needs to be on God, not my life!”
“’What is God’s will for my life?’ is not the right question. I think the right question is, ‘What is God’s will?’ Once I know God’s will, then I can adjust my life to Him. In other words, what is it that God is purposing where I am? Once I know what God is doing, then I know what I need to do. The focus needs to be on God, not my life!”
Sunday, May 2, 2010
Knowing God's Will - Insight from George Müller
When it came to knowing God's will, George Müller (1805-1898), an English evangelist and philanthropist, was remarkably and humbly gifted. A man of faith and prayer, Müller established orphanages in Bristol and founded the Scriptural Knowledge Institution for Home and Abroad. The following are wonderful excerpts from one of his essays.
Knowing God's Will - How to Ascertain the Will of God
Knowing God's will is the key to prayer, spiritual growth and fruitfulness in our individual lives. Here's how George Müller set out to ascertain the will of God on a daily basis:
I seek at the beginning to get my heart into such a state that it has no will of its own in regard to a given matter. Nine-tenths of the trouble with people generally is just here. Nine-tenths of the difficulties are over come when our hearts are ready to do the Lord's will, whatever it may be. When one is truly in this state, it is usually but a little way to the knowledge of what His will is.
Having done this, I do not leave the result to feeling or simple impression. If so, I make myself liable to great delusions.
I seek the Will of the Spirit of God through, or in connection with, the Word of God. The Spirit and the Word must be combined. If I look to the Spirit alone without the Word, I lay myself open to great delusions also. If the Holy Ghost guides us at all, He will do it according to the Scriptures and never contrary to them.
Next I take into account providential circumstances. These often plainly indicate God's Will in connection with His Word and Spirit.
I ask God in prayer to reveal His Will to me aright.
Thus, through prayer to God, the study of the Word, and reflection, I come to a deliberate judgment according to the best of my ability and knowledge, and if my mind is thus at peace, and continues so after two or three more petitions, I proceed accordingly. In trivial matters, and in transactions involving most important issues, I have found this method always effective.
Knowing God's Will - The Key to Everything!
Christ taught us that knowing God's will and living in obedience to that will is the key to it all! God is the potter; we are the clay. God keeps us spinning on His potter's wheel, shaping and reshaping us as He bathes our lives in tears to make us more Christ-like so He can use us for His will. Surrender daily. Keep your clay moist through daily prayer - prayer that's in accordance to His will.
We should trust God in faith that He will accomplish His will in our lives.
Sometimes it find difficult to determine God's will for their lives in certain situations. Times when you don't find a clear direction can be very confusing and frustrating. God gave Moses the burning bush, he showed his will to Gideon with the fleece, and he spoke to Saul with thunder and lightening. When he does this for us, it's easy to understand God's guidance. But he seldom does it this way. To truly find God's will for our life we often must step out in faith. This can be scary, but we need to realize God is there beside us and he will not allow us to stray as long as we trust in him. Proverbs 3:6 promises us, "In all your ways acknowledge Him, and He shall direct your paths." Psalm 37:23 tells us, "The steps of a good man are ordered by the Lord...." And Isaiah 30:21 informs us, "Your ears shall hear a word behind you, saying, 'This is the way, walk in it,' whenever you turn to the right hand or whenever you turn to the left." God's word plainly is saying that God will help us find his direction, but how does he do it?
I believe God reveals his will to us in two or three stages. Initially, we may get a feeling of direction from God from different sources:
1. Prayer. In order for God to speak to us, we need to be in his presence listening for his voice. As we spend time in prayer, we may sense God's leading in our lives. 2. His word. God speaks to us through his written word as we study and meditate upon his holy scripture.
3. Circumstances. Many times God will cause doors to open, or others to close. If we are walking in obedience to him, we have to assume that events in our life are ordered by God. They don't just happen by chance. Maybe the reason why a door has opened up to us is that God wants us to go through it!
4. Our heart. Sometimes the Holy Spirit will minister to our spirit and reveal God's plan for us. We will have an assurance deep in our heart. We will feel God's voice guiding us.
5. Others. God can use other believers to bring us his direction. Sometimes we will be singing a song in church, or we will be reading a Christian book, or hear the Pastor's message, or one of our friends will say something that will show us God's will. God can reveal his direction to us through any of these five ways. But even when he does, it's sometimes difficult to discern that what we sense or feel is truly God's plan for our lives. Jesus said in Matthew 18:16, "...by the word of two or three witnesses every word may be established." Jesus is here quoting Deuteronomy 19:15, "...by the mouth of two or three witnesses the matter shall be established." I believe this is a good principle to follow in trying to figure out God's plan for you. Initially, you get the direction from one of the five ways mentioned above, but now God will confirm his plan to you in the mouth of two or three witnesses: in other words: one or two more things will confirm God's direction for you. When you see this confirmation, then you will know it's time to step out in faith. There have been times in my life when I simply had to take that first step of faith, and when I did, God confirmed his plan for me as I went. You may sense God asking you to do this, but remember, God understands our human weakness. If we sincerely seek him and are willing to obey his word, he will usually affirm his will for us in other ways.
Saturday, May 1, 2010
God wills our Good.
God loves us more than anybody else can or does love us. His will is that no one should lose his soul, that everyone should save and sanctify his soul
To do God’s will
-- this was the goal upon which the saints constantly fixed their gaze. They were fully persuaded that in this consists the entire perfection of the soul.
Blessed Henry Suso used to say:
“It is not God’s will that we should abound in spiritual delights, but that in all things we should submit to his holy will.’’
“Those who give themselves to prayer,” says St. Teresa, should concentrate solely on this: the conformity of their wills with the divine will. They should be convinced that this constitutes their highest perfection. The more fully they practice this, the greater the gifts they will receive from God, and the greater the progress they will make in the interior life.
A certain Dominican nun was vouchsafed a vision of heaven one day. She recognized there some persons she had known during their mortal life on earth. It was told her these souls were raised to the sublime heights of the seraphs on account of the conformity of their wills with that of God’s during their lifetime here on earth.
Blessed Henry Suso, mentioned above, said of himself: “I would rather be the vilest worm on earth by God’s will, than be a seraph by my own.’’
Blessed Henry Suso used to say:
“It is not God’s will that we should abound in spiritual delights, but that in all things we should submit to his holy will.’’
“Those who give themselves to prayer,” says St. Teresa, should concentrate solely on this: the conformity of their wills with the divine will. They should be convinced that this constitutes their highest perfection. The more fully they practice this, the greater the gifts they will receive from God, and the greater the progress they will make in the interior life.
A certain Dominican nun was vouchsafed a vision of heaven one day. She recognized there some persons she had known during their mortal life on earth. It was told her these souls were raised to the sublime heights of the seraphs on account of the conformity of their wills with that of God’s during their lifetime here on earth.
Blessed Henry Suso, mentioned above, said of himself: “I would rather be the vilest worm on earth by God’s will, than be a seraph by my own.’’
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